Sole edge wetting device



July 6, 1937. w g AY ET 2,085,846

SOLE EDGE WET'IING DEVICE Filed June 5, 1955 Patented July 6, 1937 UNITED STATES SOLE EDGE WETTING DEVICE- William Neil Bray, Leicestenand Alfred Henry Cousins, Kettering,

England,

assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 5, 1935, Serial No. 25,106

In Great Britain June 16, 1934 6 Claims.

This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to liquid applying devises, and has particular reference to liquid applying devices for use in shoemaking and adapted for applying a liquid to an edge surface of a shoe part.

In the trimming of the edges of shoe soles (which operation is usually performed by a. rotary milling type of cutter on the edge of the sole after it is attached to the shoe), it is common practice before trimming (or between the two successive trimming operations which are commonly performed to ensure the obtaining of a smooth well-finished edge) to moisten the edge surface to be trimmed as a moistened surface apparently is trimmed more satisfactorily than a dry one. Plain water is generally made use of as the moistening liquid. Hitherto, the operator of the trimming machine has moistened the sole edge by rubbing a damp sponge therearound but this practice has suffered from disadvantages in that liquid has been apt to get on to the upper materials of the shoe and occasionally to result in staining, and, moreover, the operation has absorbed a not inconsiderable fraction of the operators time. It is one of the various objects of the invention to provide an improved liquid applying device particularly adapted for applying water or other treating liquid to the edge of a sole on a shoe for the purpose indicated and capable of being mounted on or adjacent to an edge trimming machine whereby the operator is enabled to perform the applying operation rapidly and without substantial danger of applying the liquid to undesired parts of the shoe.

In the illustrated form of the invention, a felt applying roll is provided which is mounted at one end of a hollow shaft journaled in bearings in a liquid containing receptacle. The shaft is provided with paddles which serve when the shaft is rotated to scoop up liquid from the supply in the receptacle and convey it to a Wick which is housed in the interior of the shaft and extends into communication with the felt applying roll, thereby serving to keep the applying roll moist. When the operator presents work to the applying roll by drawing the work along the surface of the roll, he rotates the roll and the shaft and thereby causes the paddles to deliver liquid to the wick which has, therefore, an amount of liquid supplied to it depending upon the amount the shaft is rotated and, so, upon the amount of work presented to the roll. An adjustment is provided for controlling the degree of compression of the felt applying roll and this adjustment serves to control the facility with which the ,liquid may be exuded through the applying roll and, thus, the amoun of liquid applied to the work by the roll.

The several features of the invention will be- 5 come clear to those skilled in the art fromthe following description given with relation to the accompanying drawing, in which 7 Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the device, and a Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along t-he axis of the hollow shaft. I

The device comprises a metal receptacle l provided with flanges 3,3 by which it may be secured in suitable position, say, to a portion of the frame of an edge trimming machine. Bearings 5, 5 are provided in opposite side walls of the receptacle and in these bearings a hollow shaft 1 is rotatably mounted. One end portion of the hollow' shaft 1 projects some distance outwardly from the receptacle and has attached to it, approximately at the end, a metal flange 9 with aturned'back or relieved'and rounded peripheral portion. Located between the flange 9 and a metal disc II is an annulus of absorbent material, such as felt, forming a liquid applying roll I3.- The flange 9 and disc H are secured together by screws [5 threaded in the flange and, by turning these screws, the degree of compression of the felt roll l3 may vbe .adjusted. c The flange 9, as is clearly seen in the drawing, is of greater diameter than the felt -roll l-3; while the disc H is of lessxdiameter than the felt roll. Secured to thelhollow shaft 1 in diametrically opposed relation are two pad-. dles o-r scoops I! which serve, when the shaft is rotated (in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen'in Fig. 1) to lift up liquid from a supply thereof in the receptacle l. A certain amount of liquid so picked up passes through holes l9 in the hollow shaft 1 on to a wick 2| in the 40 shaft. At one end, the wick 2| projects beyond the shaft and lies in contact with the interior of the felt roll l3 while at the other end the wick is enclosed by a cap 23 threaded on to the end of the shaft I. Liquid may be supplied to the receptacle I through a filling orifice normally closed by a cap 25. The level of the liquid in the receptacle will ordinarily always be below the shaft 1 and, consequently, no liquid will be supplied to the wick 2| other than that delivered by the paddles H.

In the use of the device for applying water or other suitable treating liquid to an edge of a sole on a shoe (for example, as already indicated, to assist the performance of edge trimming), the

operator takes the shoe and presents it to the device with the sole edge against the felt roll I3, the projecting portion of the flange 9 serving as an edge gage against which bears the tread face of the sole. The bent back, or relieved, construction of this gage flange tends to prevent a wetting and possible staining of the tread surface of the sole. Rounding the edge of the flange lessens the danger of injuring the work upon accidental contact therewith. It will be convenient for the operator to present the work at the lowest or substantially the lowest portion of the felt roll l 3. By drawing the work toward him, he can then cause the sole edge to be moistened progressively and the roll I 3 will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Fig.1,thereby causing the paddles I! to pick up liquid and transfer it to the wick 2|. The wick being thus kept moistened during the operation of the device serves to transfer liquid to the felt roll I3 to maintain it also in moistened condition. It will be clear that by adjustment of the screws IS the compression of the felt roll l3 may be controlled. The less the compression, the better vehicle will the roll be for transmitting liquid from the wick 2| to the work and, consequently, the greater will be the amount of liquid applied to the work.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a liquid-applying device for sheet material, a freely rotatable hollow support having a flange the lateral face of the margin of which is relieved to position it beyond the plane of the flat surface of a sheet the edge of which is to be treated, a yieldable absorbent applying roll carried on said support adjacent to the relieved face of said flange and of less diameter than the reli eved margin of the flange whereby said flange constitutes a gaging device for the flat surfaces of pieces of work the edges of which are applied to the roll, means for supplying liquid to said roll through said hollow support, and threaded fasteners for securing the roll to the flanged support adapted to variably compress the roll.

2. In a, liquid-applying device, a rotatablymounted hollow support, means to supply liquid to the interior of said support, an applying roll of absorbent material carried by said support and supplied through the interior thereof, said support having a flange projecting beyond the periphery of the roll to form a gage and having its projecting portion bent back from the plane of the lateral face of said roll whereby the tread surface of a sole, the edge of which is presented to said roll periphery, will not be soiled by said flange, and means to compress said applying roll against said flange.

3. In a liquid-applying device, a receptacle, a rotatable hollow shaft passing through and projecting beyond one side of the receptacle, an opening in said shaft within said receptacle, an applying roll on the projecting end of said shaft supplied from said receptacle through the interior of said shaft, a guide flange adjacent to the inner face of said roll, and a disk smaller than said roll closing the passage through the shaft and secured against the outer face of the roll by fastenings extending into said flange.

4. In a liquid-applying device, a rotatablymounted hollow shaft having a wick in said shaft, said shaft being provided with a flange, and an absorbent applying roll mounted on said shaft beside said flange and supplied with liquid by the wick, said flange projecting beyond the periphery of said roll and having the face which is adjacent to the roll relieved.

5. In a liquid-applying device, a rotatablymounted hollow shaft having a flange approximately at the end of the shaft, an annular applying roll of absorbent material of less diameter than said flange positioned against the outer face of the flange, a disk of smaller diameter than said roll positioned against the outer face of the roll, fastening members passing through said disk on said flange and adapted to compress the roll, and a wick within said shaft for transferring liquid to the roll.

6. In a liquid-applying device, a receptacle, a hollow shaft journaled in the wall of said receptacle above the normal level of the liquid therein,

said shaft having an aperture within the recep- I tacle, a scoop secured to the shaft adjacent to said aperture adapted to lift liquid from the receptacle to transfer it to the interior of the shaft, a flange secured to the outer end of the shaft, an annular applying roll of absorbent material positioned against the outer face of the flange, a disk closing the passage through the shaft and resting against the outer face of the roll, and means for securing said disk to said flange.

WILLIAM NEIL BRAY. ALFRED HENRY COUSINS. 

